Hey yall,
my dad bought this gem about 12 years ago in his home state of aguascalientes, Mexico. he ran it for about >20 miles before locking it up in a big warehouse type deal in one of his ranches. the reason for that being the insanely loose and sloppy handling it has; it was just too dangerous to drive outside of his ranch lines.
well a few days ago i became interested in it and payed him to bring it for me hoping to fix it.
now its my first car and im planning to make it SAFER, and more badass.
after some snooping around i found out the lift blocks on the front axle are a total no go. and the reason for the steering issue was a botched up lift job,
id really like some help with this, im not too sure on how to fix it.
thanks in advanced for any and all advice!

first pic is the regular view i guess
second is from the bottom-up
third is top-down

Jeeprage

08-14-2013 10:59 AM

The old spring perches are still on the axle. You can fairly easily convert the Jeep back to spring-under. That alone should take care of much of your handling issues.

Best of luck!

LumpyGrits

08-14-2013 11:04 AM

Front axle lift blocks are illegal in the USA for a reason.
Don't drive it till this issue is fixed!
VERY dangerous set-up on that Jeep.
LG

TexasJeepyall

08-14-2013 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LumpyGrits
(Post 15793626)

Front axle lift blocks are illegal in the USA for a reason.
Don't drive it till this issue is fixed!
VERY dangerous set-up on that Jeep.
LG

dont worry im using my dads dually before im 100% sure its safe. and legal.
its at our welding shop right now just waiting for some elbow grease! :rofl:

TexasJeepyall

08-14-2013 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeeprage
(Post 15793611)

The old spring perches are still on the axle. You can fairly easily convert the Jeep back to spring-under. That alone should take care of much of your handling issues.

Best of luck!

okay so ditch the blocks, convert it to a SUA and get some shorter U bolts?
what about the rear axle? wont that still be lifted?
sorry if i ask a lot of questions!

Nafpu

08-14-2013 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexasJeepyall
(Post 15793654)

okay so ditch the blocks, convert it to a SUA and get some shorter U bolts?
what about the rear axle? wont that still be lifted?
sorry if i ask a lot of questions!

The rear axle can still be lifted with blocks, but get some pics and make sure it is safe to drive that way. Then again, if you are getting new springs to keep your front lifted, you might just want to get rear ones to match.
You might also want to look into getting a traction bar to keep the axle from wobbling too much.:cheers:

TexasJeepyall

08-14-2013 11:34 AM

2 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nafpu
(Post 15793705)

The rear axle can still be lifted with blocks, but get some pics and make sure it is safe to drive that way. Then again, if you are getting new springs to keep your front lifted, you might just want to get rear ones to match.
You might also want to look into getting a traction bar to keep the axle from wobbling too much.:cheers:

i see, but if i take the blocks off the front... what do i do to the back?

LumpyGrits

08-14-2013 11:38 AM

Under axle pads on the rear are still in place.
Do the same as you plan to the front.
BTW, you will need to check drive shaft length and the length of your front brake lines. When you lower the Jeep down.
LG

TexasJeepyall

08-14-2013 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LumpyGrits
(Post 15793746)

Under axle pads on the rear are still in place.
Do the same as you plan to the front.
BTW, you will need to check drive shaft length and the length of your front brake lines. When you lower the Jeep down.
LG

thanks lumpy (lol)
some guys on my other threads made it seem so difficult, saying it would be super difficult to repair and costly, but you make it seem easy enough!

LumpyGrits

08-14-2013 12:09 PM

Hope all goes well.
Please keep us posted.
LG

Matt1981CJ7

08-14-2013 12:09 PM

3 Attachment(s)

Pictures always help.....

Here's a few examples of what it should look like after you put the springs back under the axles as Lumpy suggested.

Matt

TexasJeepyall

08-14-2013 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt1981CJ7
(Post 15793829)

Pictures always help.....

Here's a few examples of what it should look like after you put the springs back under the axles as Lumpy suggested.

Matt

aww man that golden retriever looks like one we had when i was a toddler, his name was Guapo (handsome, in spanish)

anyways.
do you know any links that explain how to switch them? i tried looking some up but all i can find are debates about SOA and SUA :thumbdown: if not then its cool. sweet set up btw!

WSS

08-14-2013 12:57 PM

Lucky they left the sua perches. You can go either way now. Looks like the PO tried to lift the front to match the rear with those blocks. If you go sua, youll have much better stability and probably not have to change much. I bet the PO did not swap out the dlivelines and they are probably at the end of there slip joint. If you bought some nice rubicon express or old man emu springs (or any quality springs) for front and rear, the only thing youll have to change is maybe the castor with some tapered shims (available easy enough) depending on how high you want to go. of course the height will depend on how much fun you want to have.

I am running a 2.5" (ish) lift w/ a 1.25 body lift and can get around pretty well and still handle OK at 50mph (about my tops due to gearing).